


Super Friends

by BillieJoeArmstrong



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019), Smallville
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, M/M, Pen Pals, michael guerin needs a friend, that friend might as well be superman, written as a series of letters, you only need to have seen one or other show to read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-16 03:37:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18513109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BillieJoeArmstrong/pseuds/BillieJoeArmstrong
Summary: When Michael was ten years old, his school implemented a pen-pal system with a school in Kansas. The students were to handwrite letters introducing themselves, that would be sent to Smallville High and given to a student at random, who was expected to write back.Writing the first letter was hard – Michael tried his best to make himself seem likable and ordinary – but getting a reply was like winning the lottery to the lonely ten-year-old alien.Hi Michael, the letter had said, My name’s Clark Kent. I’m 13. I think we’re going to be good friends.





	Super Friends

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of the most self-indulgent fics i've ever written lol. But what can I say, I'm a big fan of CW shows about aliens with superpowers.  
> I tried my best to lay the timelines from both shows side-by-side. I'm not very good at math, but as far as I can tell Clark is three years older than Michael, which is kind of weird considering the shows feel like they're from entirely different eras haha.  
> If it helps, there are timelines of both shows on their wiki pages that might help you figure out what events from what episodes are being described if you're unfamiliar.

When Michael was ten years old, his school implemented a pen-pal system with a school in Kansas. The students were to hand-write letters introducing themselves, that would be sent to Smallville High and given to a student at random, who was expected to write back.

Most of the kids at Michael’s school in Santa Fe sneered and rolled their eyes at the idea, and Michael himself pretended to be equally as disinterested. But deep down, the boy actually longed for a friend and the pen-pal on the other end of his letters seemed the perfect candidate.

Writing the first letter was hard – Michael tried his best to make himself seem likable and ordinary – but getting a reply was like winning the lottery to the lonely ten-year-old alien.

_Hi Michael,_ the letter had said, _My name’s Clark Kent. I’m 13. I think we’re going to be good friends._

* * *

Michael kept talking to Clark months after his school peers had given up. He pestered his teachers every few weeks to send off another, and nagged them every day to tell him if he had been sent one back.

When Michael was eleven, he made sure to send Clark a letter telling him he was moving back to Roswell, with his new address printed in careful lettering. The boy wasn’t going to take any chances that might have cost him his only friend.

Michael never talked to Clark about anything particularly serious, and especially not anything alien-related. There was no way Michael would risk letting his secret out, no matter how much he cared for his only friend. Instead, they talked about themselves and the fun parts of their lives. Their interests and hobbies.

Clark talked a lot about his parents - how he was adopted as a toddler, and sometimes felt different from the people around him, but his mom and dad always had his back and reminded how much he was loved. Michael was a little envious that Clark’s parents seemed so great, but his bitterness was far trumped by the kinship he felt with Clark when they talked about those topics. Michael highly doubted that his friend’s feelings of outsiderness came from the same place as his own; Clark Kent, an alien from outer space? Ridiculous!

Nevertheless, Michael hadn’t felt this connected to anyone since he first moved out of Roswell and away from Max and Isobel. Though Clark only existed to him as words on a page, Michael grew to trust him more and more; and it appeared the trust went both ways.

Something changed in their relationship after Michael received a letter from Clark dated October 7th, 2001. Though the letter itself was typical of Clark’s normal style – written in red ink on one side of a single, blue-tinted page – the content was more personal and introspective than anything the boy had sent before.

 

_Hi Michael,_ it read,

_I found out something today from my parents, about where I’m from and why they adopted me. It’s got me a little messed up, I guess. But it also explains a lot. I can’t really tell you about it, sorry, but I don’t think you’d believe me if I did._

Michael snorted a little reading that, as though anywhere Clark could have come from would be more unbelievable than his own origins.

_I can’t really talk about any of my school friends about this – they’re all nosy and would push me to share things I don’t want to. So I’m writing to you because I have faith you won’t do the same. And because you can’t really force me to write anything I don’t want to. Haha._

_I think my parents telling me with the truth has left me with even more questions than before. Like why my biological parents gave me up, and what it all means for my future. I guess I’ll get my answers in time._

_Weird thing is, that’s not even the wildest thing that happened to me all day. I saved a guy’s life today! He crashed his car into a river and I pulled him out._

_It felt really good to do something useful for once. I’m pretty strong, and fast, but I never really get a chance to use my abilities for more than helping my dad on the farm. I think I’d like to help more people in the future._

_Anyway, I hope you’re well. I hope this letter didn’t weird you out. Sorry I got so personal, I trust you a lot._

_From Clark._

 

Michael had read the letter over and over, committing each word to memory as nothing he had ever read before felt so reassuring and relatable. He pulled out a pad of paper and a pen and hastily wrote a reply.

 

_Dear Clark,_

_I understand. I feel the same way._

 

From that point on, their letters became an outlet for talking about the big things in life. A cathartic release of feelings to an unjudging ear. Though Michael hardly had the solutions to Clark’s problems, and vice versa, they trusted each other to listen to their issues, and help as best they could to untangle the other’s confusing webs of emotions. 

* * *

 

Spring 2002.

_Hi Michael,_

_Spring Formal was a couple of weeks ago. It got ruined by a bunch of tornadoes._

_I did the hero thing again, haha. The girl I like almost got trapped in a vortex and I saved her._

_For a minute, it felt like I was flying. It was terrifying. But I sort of want to feel that again some day._

_Does that make me weird?_

_From Clark._

_Hey Clark,_

_You’re pretty weird, alright. But it’s not because of the flying thing._

_I get it. Being able to do something that should be impossible is cool. It makes being different feel almost worth it. Or at least I imagine it would._

_It would also be nice to be able to just fly away from all the worlds problems. I wish I could do that. I hope you achieve your dream some day, so you can fly away from stinky Smallville and hang out with me in Roswell instead._

_From Michael._

* * *

Fall 2002.

_Hi Michael,_

_A lot’s happened in the past few months. I told my friend Pete about where I’m from – or at least as much as I know about it. He took it okay, I guess. It helped to have him know when I went crazy a few weeks later._

_I really hurt someone I care about a lot. I didn’t mean to. I wasn’t in my right mind when I did. I don’t know how to make it up to her._

_I also learnt how to do something new. Something most people can’t do. It was scary at first, but my parents talked me into seeing it as something special._

_Sometimes I wish they wouldn’t do that. Special just seems like a nice way of saying ‘weird’. I mean, yeah, sometimes it’s cool to be able to do something other people can’t. But sometimes it doesn’t really feel worth being so different._

_From Clark_

_Hey Clark,_

_I’m glad Pete took your news well. The only two people I care about (aside from you) already know where I come from, and trust me, it’s nice to have someone who knows. I hope Pete doesn’t turn into an ass about it, haha._

_I get what you mean about being weird. I think if I were just a little more normal, maybe I’d have a loving family instead of being in a stupid group home. Most of the time I feel like nothing ‘special’ I can do makes it worth it._

_From Michael_

* * *

Summer 2003

_Hi Michael,_

_I messed up bad this time. I had this voice in my head, I wanted it to shut up, and I did something I shouldn’t have._

_You know how I told you I was gonna be an older brother? Yeah. That’s not happening anymore, and it’s my fault._

_I don’t know what to do._

 

Despite sending dozens of terrified letters back, that was the last Michael heard from Clark all summer. When he finally wrote back, it was in response to a letter Michael sent the week after his fourteenth birthday.

  
  
2004  
_Hey Clark,_

_I think I need you to respond. I don’t know if you’re okay, or if you’re even still alive. But I’ve never been this scared and you’re the only person I trust like this._

_My brother killed somebody the other day. I helped him cover up the body. It was self-defence. He was trying to protect our sister. But it scared me a lot, and I don’t have anyone else to turn to._

_From Michael_

_Hi Michael,_

_I’m here. Sorry I was gone for so long._

_I think we’re more similar than either of us realises. The past few months have been pretty traumatic for me, and I guess once it was all over I needed a distraction from the thoughts of the awful things I did._

_I think you need the same._

_There’s this girl that started at my school, (she’d kill me for calling her a girl, haha). Her name’s Lois._

_You don’t know infuriating until you’ve met Lois Lane._

_She gets on my nerves SO MUCH. But she’s my best friend’s cousin, so I have to be nice to her._

_She showed up in town to investigate one thing and leave, but then her dad (who is in the army and terrifying) showed up and told her she has to start at my school! Now I’m stuck with her!!_

_She’s so bossy and obnoxious. Mikey, please pray for me that I can survive my senior year without her annoying me to death._

_From Clark_

_Hey Clark,_

_Sounds like somebody’s got a crush._

_Haha, for real, great distraction. Thanks, dude. Good luck “dealing” with Lois. Make sure to send me an invite to your wedding._

_From Michael_

_Hi Michael,_

_I hate you._

* * *

Fall 2005

_Hi Michael,_

_I think I’m finally normal. Some stuff happened. Well, a lot of stuff. I really can’t explain._

_But I’m like everybody else now. I think I’m happier. I don’t know._

_I guess this is all I’ve ever wanted?_

_From Clark_

 

Michael always thought this was the saddest of the letters Clark sent. He didn’t know what Clark meant by ‘finally normal’, but if Michael had to find an equivalent in his own life, he’d say it would be being stripped of his alien powers. Sure, he wouldn’t have to endure any more exorcisms or keep secrets that were eating him from the inside out. But he would lose an entire foundation of his identity. He urged Clark to understand.

 

_Hey Clark,_

_I know years ago we said being special sucks, but honestly? Normal’s overrated too._

_You don’t sound happier. Not to me, and I think I know you pretty well by now._

_It’s your life, so do what you want. But I think I realise now that if someone tried to make me normal, I’d stop being me altogether._

_Whatever you choose, good luck._

_From Michael._

* * *

Somewhere in the midst of 2006, the two boys switched from hand-written letters to sending emails back and forth. Michael’s high school started up computer labs that he would sneak into every lunchtime to check his messages. Talking to Clark became Michael’s tether as his high school years proved more and more emotionally draining.

* * *

Spring 2007

_Hey Clark,_

_I’m living out of my truck now. Got fed up with garbage foster homes and literal torture._

_Things are kinda bleak at the moment._

_Think you could distract me with another story from the life of Clark Kent?_

_From Michael_

_Hi Michael,_

_Anything for my best-friend-who-I’ve-never-met._

_I met my cousin recently. Like, my actual biological cousin._

_She’s different, like me. It’s kind of nice to share it with someone, finally._

_She calls me Kal-El. That’s the name my biological parents gave me. I haven’t told many people that._

_It’s weird having her around. I feel more torn between two worlds than I have before. The place my cousin and I are from originally is really different to here, and I’m struggling to balance my identity around the two cultures. Like, I know my cousin could tell me more about where I’m from, and what it’s like, but I don’t want to forget who I’ve become here on Earth, either. I want to keep being Clark Kent, the guy from Smallville. But maybe I’m supposed to be more than that?_

_From Clark._

 

It was the first slip-up Clark made, and it made Michael’s heart stop in his chest. _Who I’ve become here on Earth._ Michael brushed it off as a hyperbole, but the implication still nagged at the back of his mind. Perhaps he and Clark were even more alike than he previously thought. Not that Michael was going to press the issue, for risk of it outing himself as not-of-this-world.

* * *

Fall 2007

_Hi Michael,_

_I met my birth mother recently. Sort of. It’s complicated._

_Here name was Lara. She was beautiful._

_I couldn’t save her. In a way I sort of killed her._

_But she told me she loved me. So at least I have that._

_From Clark._

_Hey Clark,_

_I’m so sorry, I can’t even understand how you must be feeling right now._

_Hi Michael,_

_I hope you’re never in a situation where you find out._

* * *

Spring 2008

_Hey Clark,_

_I know we haven’t really talked about anything like this before, but I don’t trust anyone else about this._

_I met this guy recently, and he was really nice and sweet and pretty. He tried to kiss me._

_I didn’t let him. But I think maybe I should have. I think I want him to kiss me._

_Hi Michael,_

_I think maybe I’m not the best guy to talk to about relationship advice._

_Remember Lois, who I told you about years ago?_

_Well I think I’m in love with her. So…. Yeah._

_Good luck with your boy, though. I say go for it!_

_From Clark_

_Hey Clark,_

_I hate to say I told you so….. But I told you so._

_I’ve only been waiting for you to realise you and Lois are soulmates since, like, the dawn of time!_

_Hi Michael,_

_Soulmates? Really?_

_Do you think that’s a thing? Like we’re all tied together in some grand, cosmic scheme?_

_Hey Clark,_

_“Cosmic scheme” I like that. I might have to use it someday._

* * *

Summer 2008

_Hey Clark,_

_Everything is falling apart._

_Remember that guy I told you about a couple of weeks ago? I think I love him._

_I kissed him. It was perfect._

_Then his dad caught us together and my whole world collapsed in a single night._

_I think my sister killed three girls. My brother and I helped her cover it up. Everything just went wrong all at once._

_I don’t know what to do._

_Hi Michael,_

_I’m so, so, sorry. You’re a good person. You don’t deserve any of this._

_I know things are miserable now, but I’ve learnt that hope is the most powerful thing we can hold onto. So I’m hoping for things to get better for you._

_From Clark._

* * *

Fall 2008

_Hey Clark,_

_He left. The guy. Who I think I’m in love with._

_He’s gone to war and I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again._

_Sorry, but I don’t think hope does shit. I certainly don’t have any left._

* * *

Michael stopped replying after that. Clark continued to send him emails, though they became less frequent as time passed.

Michael still read all of them.

Clark talked a lot about duty and destiny and the future. If Michael didn’t know better, he’d think Clark was preparing to become a martyr or something; like he thought himself the saviour of humanity, only he couldn’t decide when he was ready to take that leap.

In early 2011 Michael received a letter in the post, the envelope scribbled with “as promised in 2004.” Strangely, the envelope was unstamped, as though it had been delivered in person. But Michael was drunk and didn’t care beyond a passing observation.

Inside the envelop was an invitation to the wedding of Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Michael fought to keep the smirk off his face as he felt genuinely happy for his friend. Looking closer, however, Michael noticed the detail that entitled him to inviting a plus one.

Michael screwed up the invitation and tossed it in the fire pit in front of his airstream, not noticing the man standing nearby in a red leather jacket, a sorrowful look on his face before he zipped away at super-speed.

Come the day of the wedding, Michael had all but forgotten about his invitation. He spent the day at the Wild Pony, drinking his angst away. It was mid-afternoon when the breaking news story came on the tv set in the bar. Grainy footage of the impending impact of a giant, apocalyptic planet into Earth flashed on screen as Michael’s phone buzzed in his pocket.

An alert on the screen told Michael he had an email from Clark, the first one he had received since he threw away the wedding invite.

_Hi Michael,_ it read _,_

_I think I’m finally ready._

_I’m going to embrace my destiny. Take my place where the cosmic scheme has been guiding me all these years._

_I’ve been thinking of what you said about hope, three years ago. About how you didn’t have any because you didn’t think it helped._

_I think you were lying._

_You’re holding out on the hope that your boy will come back from war, that he’ll still love you when he does. That you can restart and make your life better one day._

_I think hope is all you’ve got._

_It’s all I’ve got too._

_So let’s both hold on to it._

_I’m still hoping for you, Michael Guerin. I’m hoping you’ll forge your path just like I have. I’m hoping you’ll get your soulmate back. I’m hoping you’ll get to become the person you’re supposed to._

_Just like I finally have._

_Wish me luck, I’m gonna fly._

_From Clark._

Michael looked up as the footage on the screen showed a man in a blue costume with a red cape fly at the approaching planet, and with his bare hands, push it back out of Earth’s orbit.

Gasps of relief echoed around the bar but Michael was struck silent. The pieces fell together in his head as he looked between the email and the shaky video on the TV.

Michael blinked several times and shook his head, laughter escaping from his throat impulsively. He found himself truly, for the first time in his life, filled with an overwhelming feeling of hope.

Perhaps he and Clark Kent weren’t so different after all.

If Michael’s childhood pen-pal could grow to accept himself as an alien on Earth, marry his soulmate and use his extra-terrestrial powers to become a hero for good, why couldn’t he?

**Author's Note:**

> Send prompts for Smallville or Roswell NM to my tumblr @aliencowboys
> 
> Comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading !


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